NEW YORK – West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle was named to the Big East All-Tournament team, but judging by the way he played last night against Syracuse in the tournament final, he didn’t seem like an all-star.

But Pittsnogle, who averaged 23 points per game in the Big East tourney before scoring only two last night, wasn’t the only Mountaineer to have problems against an aggressive Syracuse defense.

The Syracuse 2-3 zone, usually susceptible to the outside shot, held West Virginia shooters to a 35.8 field goal percentage. The Mountaineers boast a number of outside threats, yet the Orange rotated with ease, put a hand up on almost every shot and threw off WVU’s outside game. Syracuse won the game, 68-59, in front of 19,528 at Madison Square Garden.

‘That zone is very, very hard to get shots against,’ WVU guard Mike Gansey said. ‘It’s kind of tough to drive a little bit in there. Even when you got an open shot, you got a guy running at you with a hand in your face.’

And even though West Virginia (21-10) set a record for most 3-pointers over the course of a Big East tournament, it only made 9 of the 29 perimeter shots it attempted last night.

Gansey, WVU’s other all-tourney selection, only slightly hurt the Orange (27-6). He scored 11 points, nine of which came in the first half. Gansey made only one 3-pointer.

Many of WVU’s problems came with shooting over taller and more athletic Syracuse players. But even when the Mountaineers could put the ball in the hands of Pittsnogle, its tallest starter and an outside threat, the Orange had a man ready to contest a shot or pass.

The defensive pressure caused Pittsnogle to shoot off-balance, throwing off his shot and causing him to force up fade-away jumpers. SU keyed on the WVU center and refused to let him get a set outside shot. He only shot the ball eight times.

‘Our defense both nights was the difference,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘Pittsnogle has played great through this stretch they’ve had. We really wanted to find him and not let him get set. Defensively, we were really good.’

The Orange knew it had to play more aggressive defense to succeed in the Big East tournament. Although teams that take a lot of outside shots, like West Virginia, often cause problems for the 2-3 zone, SU paid extra attention to the perimeter. It forced the Mountaineers to veer from its offensive style and rely on the inside game.

‘It’s tough (containing all of West Virginia’s shooters), but we did a decent job,’ Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara said. ‘They have great shooters and you can’t stop them all.’

And despite only scoring 27 points in the second half, the Orange broke the game open by controlling West Virginia’s shooters. WVU only made seven shots in the second half.

‘They shaded all our shooters very well,’ Beilein said. ‘They did a great job of identifying who was there. But it’s more of a team concept. Nobody’s going to get a good shot. They’re not saying, ‘We’re going to play this defense to stop Gansey or Pittsnogle.’ That’s the defense they play and it’s hard as hell to score against.’

Published on March 12, 2005 at 12:00 pm